About Us

Statement of Purpose

Tulane was founded in 1834 by seven brave physicians who sought to form a medical school in New Orleans that would teach others how to care for patients in the midst of an epidemic of cholera and yellow fever. They made history through their service to their patients and the learners under their wings. From its humble beginnings in a church schoolroom, Tulane has emerged as a major academic center in the south by adhering to the aspirations of our founders. Simply put, we are in the business of caring for others and for defining the practice of medicine along the way.

Vision

Our Vision is to set the standard for healthcare in our community through acts of kindness, innovation, and discovery.

It is my pleasure to welcome you and your family to Tulane Health System. We know you have placed your trust in us for your care. All of our physicians, caregivers, and staff take that trust to heart. Serving you and your family is our passion. It is why we are here and why we love what we do.

One of our core principles is that we can transform health care through acts of kindness and we strive to do so every day. If there is something we can do to make your stay exceptional, please let us know. Our team wishes to work closely with you to ensure that your comfort, safety and medical care exceed your expectations in every possible way. If you have a thought or concern that you are considering bringing to our attention, please just let any of us know. There is no matter too small when it comes to you and your care.

As one of the nation’s top medical schools, we have a history of defining how medicine is practiced. I suspect this is why many of you have chosen to put your trust in Tulane. You join a host of patients from around the nation and around the world that have done the same. Our dedication to teaching and discovery means that your doctor will most likely be accompanied by young women and men who are training to become physicians, nurses, and other caregivers. We attract the best and brightest students because of the outstanding faculty who are caring for you.

I would like to hear from you about your experience at Tulane. While some of you will receive a survey that is automatically generated and uses a random selection process, I would like to hear from all of you. Please share your thoughts on our service with me or any member of the Tulane Health System team.

We always communicate with our patients and visitors using our AIDET template:

Acknowledge: “We greet our patients and visitors with a smile and place our focus on them.”

Introduce: “We introduce ourselves by our name and role and assure our patients and visitors that we and our coworkers will take good care of them.”

Duration: “We always give our patients an estimate of the time it will take for us to complete a procedure, finish a test, or see a process through. We keep our patients and visitors informed of any delays and estimate how long they will be.”

Explanation: “We keep patients and visitors informed of what we are doing for them, why we are doing it, and how we will protect their safety. We use language that they can understand and we make certain to answer all of their questions and concerns.”

Thank You: “We share our appreciation for the privilege of caring for our patients and visitors by thanking them.”

Tulane Medical Center, an acclaimed teaching, research and medical facility, serving the greater New Orleans area, began in 1834 as a small, medical college with seven faculty members. The school was founded by three young physicians, Drs. Warren Stone, John H. Harrison and Thomas Hunt, who had moved to New Orleans and recognized the need to study and treat “the peculiar diseases which prevail in this part of the Union,” including yellow fever and malaria. At the time, there were only 14 medical schools in the United States.

When the Louisiana Legislature established the University of Louisiana in 1847, the Medical College of Louisiana was incorporated into the school. The reputation of the medical college grew quickly, and its enrollment expanded over the years leading up to the Civil War.

The college closed during the Civil War, but reopened and continued through the Reconstruction years. In 1884, the medical school was named for merchant-philanthropist Paul Tulane, who made a $1.25 million gift to establish Tulane University of Louisiana. In return, control of the University of Louisiana was turned over to the administrators of the Tulane Educational Fund.

Tulane Medical College had a continuous relationship with Charity Hospital from the mid-1800s through the 1970s. The hospital had been founded in 1736 by a successful French ship builder to treat patients who could not afford to pay for medical services. After 1844, students and faculty from Tulane Medical College provided care free-of-charge.

In 1843, the Louisiana Legislature granted land for a medical school building, including a lecture room, chemical laboratory, library, reading room, amphitheater and dissecting room in exchange for 10 years of gratis health care services. The building cost $15,000, but the tradition of providing medical services continued for decades.

When Medicare and Medicaid were created in 1965, many poor patients chose other hospitals, and Charity’s patient load decreased. Tulane University opened its own private, 235-bed hospital in 1976 to offer high quality and specialized inpatient and outpatient hospital services, as well as postgraduate medical education programs and applied research projects.

In 1995, Tulane Medical Center was acquired by Hospital Corporation of America (HCA). Ninety percent of the medical school’s physician faculty work in the hospital as well as teach.

HCA acquired Lakeside Hospital for Women in 1964, building a 94-bed facility in Metairie, outside New Orleans. In 2005, Lakeside merged with Tulane Medical Center, changing its name to Tulane Lakeside Hospital. It now has 119 beds dedicated to serving the healthcare needs of women and children in our community.

Tulane Lakeside Hospital for Women and Children has provided the knowledge, expertise and specialized care vital to the healthcare needs of women and their babies in Jefferson Parish for the past 44 years. Since opening in 1964, Tulane Lakeside Hospital has delivered over 1000,000 babies and treated well over 300,000 patients. Tulane Lakeside Hospital's commitment to treating women and their babies has grown by expanding services and offering a wider range of healthcare options for the entire family. We provide cutting edge technology in many specialties including Obstetrics/Gynecology, Urology, Radiology, Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology (ENT), and Surgery.

Tulane Medical Center was the first hospital to reopen after Hurricane Katrina devastated healthcare in the region. TMC pioneered a neighborhood clinic and sickle cell day hospital post-Katrina to allow health care to be more easily accessed and cost-effective.

Lakeview Regional Medical Center became a campus of Tulane Medical Center in 2017, offering patients on the Northshore expanded access to the services, physicians, research and clinical trials offered by Tulane.